


You and Me and the Moon

by cyprianlatewood



Series: 69 Love Songs Vol 4 [3]
Category: The Magicians (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Anal Fisting, Daddy Kink, Dom/sub, Drug Use, Established Relationship, M/M, Orgasm Delay/Denial, Shibari, Sleep Deprivation, Switching
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 16:00:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29316738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cyprianlatewood/pseuds/cyprianlatewood
Summary: Another Magnetic Fields songfic,songof the same title. Lyrics in italics.The gang tries to stop the Harmonic Convergence in Season 5 with one tiny difference - Quentin is with them.
Relationships: Quentin Coldwater/Eliot Waugh
Series: 69 Love Songs Vol 4 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2162388
Comments: 9
Kudos: 38





	You and Me and the Moon

**Author's Note:**

> This is a rewrite of sorts excerpted from part of S5E5 - dialogue lifted directly from the episode for context is in [brackets]. Basically, what I thought might happen if the plot was basically the same but Q didn’t die and Alice went off to the Library. Also there is Queliot, obviously (my other [fic](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28996518) has them getting their shit together at the end of S502). I started off intending for this to be much lighter, but things just sort of escalated, I guess. Eliot’s “hallucinations” are basically Charlton in his head being a dumbass, which is also consistent with the episode.
> 
> And thank you so much to [TheAudity](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAudity/pseuds/TheAudity) for being an awesome beta!

**Night 0 - The Beginning**

As Julia wrapped up her explanation, they all sat around the table with stunned looks on their faces. Avert the apocalypse by moving the moon after five days without sleep? It seemed like quite a stretch. Then again, that was kind of their specialty.

“Q, I hate to say this when we obviously need everyone we can get, but are you sure you’re up for this? Extreme sleep deprivation is kind of bad for depression. Maybe you could be like our designated sleeper or something.” Julia was pulling out her mom-voice now, and it never failed to make Quentin bristle.

“Julia, I’m pretty sure I’m the most qualified to handle Moon Brain of all of us, when you think about it. I’m pretty sure I went at least 5 days without sleep during finals in undergrad a few years in a row. Don’t worry, if I get tired, I’ll just break out that deeply-inaccurate Fillory series I used to love. Or, you know, revisit my extensive list of failures and fuckups - that oughta wind me right back up.”

“Q, darling, you know that’s not really as funny as you think it is.” Eliot was looking at him in concern, clenching his hand tighter around Quentin’s knee where it had previously been resting absently. God, sometimes Quentin missed the old aloof Eliot, the one who relied on scathing insults to hide his affection. He just wanted to not be an object of sympathy, now of all times.

Then he had a wicked thought. “Well then, El, you’ll just have to find some other ways of keeping me awake,” wiggling his eyebrows in what he intended to be a suggestive manner but got kind of tangled up into just a general scrunched up squint-wink hybrid. Thankfully, prickly Eliot and soft Eliot were both pretty much goners for Q attempting any kind of seduction, the more awkward the better.

Eliot’s hand moved up a little on his thigh, as his eyes darkened and he leaned in until his addictive smell and heat took over Q’s space. “Oh, baby, it’s on.” Quentin gulped. 

Julia cleared her throat awkwardly into the now-thick silence. “Okay, well I guess that’s decided then! Moon Brain, here we come.” Josh jumped into action, mumbling something about looking up recipes for natural stimulants in muffins, and the rest just rolled their eyes at the display.

“I’m just gonna – “ Quentin, suddenly rock-hard inches away from Eliot’s exploring fingers, gestured towards the hall and stumbled up off the couch. Eliot’s grin was a mile wide as he just stayed where he was, gaze following his boyfriend’s ass as he clambered past Eliot’s legs and left the room in a rush. Quentin stopped before he turned down the hallway, turned with a huff and gave Eliot an impatient glare.

“Hmm, it seems as though I’m needed elsewhere. See you all in the morning!” Eliot gave a patronizing little wave to the grumbling crew as he stood and slowly made his way towards the hallway, dragging out the moment as long as possible, to Quentin’s intense embarrassment.

“Don’t fall asleep after you come!” Margo yelled after them.

“Oh my God,” Quentin muttered into his hands. Eliot chuckled and gently pushed him around the corner with a hand on the small of his back. Inside Quentin’s room (well, more like their room now, but with all the back and forth to Fillory it was hard to lay claim on any place), Eliot came around to face Quentin, looming over him and shutting the door with one hand above his head. He crowded Quentin up against the closed door and brushed their hips together, making Quentin hiss. 

He spoke softly just next to his ear. “What do you think, baby? Do you think I should get you off? Will you be able to stay awake? Or should I just edge you for an entire week? Rile you up, get you close every time you start to feel sleepy? You’d be on a hair trigger by the end of it, baby.” His fingers brushed lightly up the sides of his body as he whispered, leaving little trails of sparks behind them.

Quentin’s eyes rolled back in his head just thinking of it. “I’m sure I can survive an orgasm at least just tonight, right? Work up to it?”

“Wanna get one last fix, huh? I think that can be arranged.” Quentin moaned as Eliot’s hand cupped his groin.

“What about you,” he choked out. “Surely you’ll be in the same boat? Want one last orgasm for the road?”

“Oh, Q, I’ve been to Ibiza how many times? I’m pretty sure a couple orgasms won’t fuck up my ability to pull all-nighters. That said, I would never deny myself a reason for one now.” He seemed so sure of himself – Quentin didn’t say anything aloud but he was pretty sure he would get a few chances to torture his lover right back over this next 4 days. And the payback, when he got it, would be oh, so sweet. He smirked (sorta) and leaned up for a kiss. 

“Sure, El, sounds good to me.” And the night proceeded as usual. Eliot kneeled and kept Quentin against the door until he exploded down El’s throat with a shout (even with their nomadic lifestyle, they made sure this room at least had permanent silencing wards). Then, El laid him out on the bed on his stomach and took him apart with his tongue before pressing inside him. He resisted Quentin’s pleas of “faster, harder” as long as he could before he, too, gave in to the urge to just burn energy fucking his boyfriend into the mattress.

That was where the “usual” part ended. Normally, this would be the part where they would get cleaned up for bed and then Quentin would cuddle up into Eliot’s shoulder. Eliot would play with his hair and hum softly until they both fell asleep. Tonight, they had to stay up. So they opted for a full-on shower, which of course turned into Round Two (with Q scrabbling for grip against the slippery tile as Eliot pounded into him against the side wall, one foot braced against the soap caddy, Eliot’s telekinesis the only thing keeping them from falling flat on their faces), and then got back into their clothes. Eliot insisted on a full waistcoat and tie, figuring it would keep him awake, but Quentin decided he could allow himself one night of comfy relaxation in sweatpants before he needed to take extra precautions. He pulled the first book of a new Jemisin trilogy off his shelf (maybe if he was lucky he could make each book last one night and then he would be set until Day 4), while Eliot pulled out his laptop and headphones to work on some music. He and Penny had talked about trying to make an album after they realized they had kept some residue of talent and interest from their short-lived musical alter egos (Penny’s whole “DJ Hansel” thing was pretty intense, obviously, and Eliot’s “Nigel” persona had played in a band for a bit). There hadn’t been a lot of time to explore it, but now seemed like a good time for a distraction. They passed the night in easy silence this way, and Quentin was feeling optimistic.

**Day 1 – 12 hours without sleep**

_ Brian Wilson, 1960 and Vine _ _  
_ _ Summer kisses _ _  
_ _ In a Pendleton shirt, songs and gentle words _ _  
_ _ Granted wishes _

Eliot headed out to the common area when the sun came up, but Quentin stayed in their room to finish the last chapter of The Fifth Season. He changed into jeans and a plaid flannel, and trekked out feeling pretty good, all things considered. One night without sleep wasn’t anything that unusual for him, even when sex was involved. He came into the kitchen to the smell of fresh muffins and coffee. Eliot spun around on his entry to hand him a plate and mug, planting a chaste-but-sweet kiss on his lips. Quentin started to turn it into something more, tasting the coffee in El’s mouth, until he heard a disgusted groan from his left. “Mental wards, dude! I will never use that shower again!”

Quentin looked over, confused. He was pretty sure his wards were airtight, courtesy of Monster times. Then he looked back at Eliot, who was grinning. Quentin blushed and smacked him playfully on the arm. “God, you’re the worst! Sorry, Penny.”

“To be fair, Penny, you better get used to seeing all our thoughts this week – pretty sure nobody will be keeping their subconscious under wraps by the time Moon Brain comes on,” Julia pointed out.

Penny sighed. “Well, as long as we keep Taylor Swift out of everyone’s heads, I’ll survive.” And he glared pointedly at Quentin, who shrugged in mock innocence. The rest of the day passed without difficulty, everyone trying to preserve energy but also focused on the most critical task – figuring out where to get a moon rock.

Quentin and Eliot did their best to keep the sex low-impact that evening. They made out languidly for a while, sitting upright on the bed with Eliot leaning back against the headboard while Quentin straddled him. They slowly got undressed and Eliot squeezed lube into one long hand before wrapping it around both of their cocks and stroking without intention for a while. They both stayed as calm as they could but eventually Quentin was grinding into his hand, trying to increase the speed and pressure. Eliot laughed hoarsely. “Patience, little Q,” he whispered, and Quentin stilled with a whimper. Eliot resumed his stroking, slowing down the closer they got to the end. He dragged it out until they were both close to passing out from trying to hold off their orgasms, and then he whispered, “Think you can get off for one more night and stay awake?” Q nodded frantically. “Then come for me, sweet boy,” and Quentin lost it. Eliot was not far behind.

They cleaned up and Eliot watched Quentin carefully for signs of impending sleep, but Q was holding up so far. There were still several hours of night left, so they got dressed and joined the crew back in the common area, where they were playing party games to keep themselves awake. Quentin retreated to a chair after a while with his second book and lost himself in the world of the Orogenes, occasionally looking over fondly to watch Eliot laughing with Margo and Penny as they played charades. Julia hadn’t let up with their research, and Josh was fiddling around in the kitchen. He felt a little drowsy, but nothing he couldn’t overcome.

**Day 2 – 36 hours without sleep**

_ When I look in your eyes, I go soft inside _ _  
_ _ And the sound of your voice sends shivers up my spine _ _  
_ _ And at the slightest touch we're in love _ _  
_ _ You and me and the moon _ _  
_ _ You and me and the moon _

Quentin turned the last page of his book with a smile. The sun was starting to come up. Perfect timing. He looked up to see the crew all still in the kitchen, immersed in their own activities, with the exception of Julia. Josh was serving everyone coffee, and as he came over to refill Quentin’s mug, Q asked, “where’s Julia?”

[“Taking a cold shower to stay awake,” Penny muttered. “Third – fourth time this morning.”] Penny was hunched over a laptop at the counter, looking up moon rocks. Right. Quentin should probably start worrying about that now – he’d been so focused on planning his activities with Eliot that he had forgotten it wasn’t enough to just stay awake. They were still missing a vital piece they needed to carry out their plan.

Josh made his way over to Margo and Eliot, who appeared to be doing a puzzle. [“Well I don’t know about you guys, but I am too excited to sleep! I mean, we’re really doing this!” Josh looked down at the puzzle. “Is this, uh, helping you find moon rocks?”

“No, this is helping us stay awake,” Eliot complained. “The moment I research, I’m out like a light.”] Q snorted into his book and Eliot looked over huffily, trying not to smile.

[“You know what might help?” Margo asked slyly, peeking up at Josh from under her lashes. “If we made this party a little more – 80’s themed.”]

As Quentin watched them, Eliot gave a sudden twitch and glanced over his shoulder with a startled look. He looked around as though expecting to see someone or something, and then he shook his head a little and turned back to the puzzle.  _ What the fuck? _

“Hey guys, come check this out,” Penny called out, and they all clustered around his laptop. 

Quentin put a hand on Eliot’s bicep. “Hey, you okay?” he asked softly.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. Lack of sleep starting to get to me, I guess.”

“Hmm, right. Well, let me know if it gets worse, okay?” Eliot nodded silently and reached his hand up to cover Quentin’s, giving him a little smile. Then they turned back to listen to Penny’s story about the NASA moon rock souvenirs. They distributed what leads they could find and set off in groups; Margo, Quentin and Eliot taking one half of the list and Julia and Penny taking the other. 

Josh opted to stay behind and make them some new muffins with  an [“all-natural, organic ingredient that is most definitely not meth.”]  _ Sure, Josh. _

Margo, Eliot and Quentin spent all day portal-hopping. They came up on dead end after dead end. Considering that Quentin had hardly remembered the importance of the rock until this morning, he was definitely starting to panic. Lack of sleep was doing a real number on his self-regulation. The sun was starting to go down when they finally thought they found something, but it turned out to just be a hunk of concrete with the word “moon rock” scrawled on it in permanent marker. “Well, goddammit,” Margo shouted, throwing up her hands. “Let’s go home and eat some meth muffins.”

Of course, they portalled straight into a disaster zone. The smoke alarm was beeping and there was a horrible burning smell from the oven, and Josh was sprawled out on the couch, fast asleep. “Fuck!” Margo shouted (seriously, could she do anything besides shout right now?) and started shaking him and yelling in his face. As soon as he was awake and realized what had happened, Josh started apologizing profusely and ran to pull the muffins out of the oven, letting out a cloud of toxic smoke that set everyone coughing.

“So, no meth muffins, I take it,” Eliot muttered. Josh immediately started to clear the counter and prepare for another batch just as Julia and Penny came back, bearing the same defeated looks and arms empty of rocks.

Quentin could feel his chest clench and his airway close as he started to think about the possibilities. “What if there aren’t any rocks left?” He asked, pacing around the living room, his voice rising frantically as he spoke. “I mean, contacting the Moon burns up a bit of the rocks each time, so what if the Lunatics have used them all up over the years? What if we’re completely fucked?” He rubbed his hand over his face.

Margo started going on about skipping out on the Convergence and hiding out in Fillory, and Julia had a whole speech about going down with the ship, so to speak. But Quentin had sort of stopped paying attention. Their voices sounded muddy, like they were coming through water, a sure sign he was entering full panic mode. How could this keep happening to them? What if they fucked everything up? What if  _ he _ fucked everything up? How could there be a bigger fuck-up than letting an entire planet collapse because they couldn’t find a stupid rock?  Eliot’s hand landed on his shoulder sharply, which pulled him out enough to realize they were doing some kind of team huddle. “I’m in,” he said, assuming it was the appropriate affirmative response. 

This continued around the table to Josh, who added (even though,  _ well Josh, you’re actually out now _ ), [“And my axe!” in a silly Gimli voice, throwing his potholder down on the counter.] Everyone gave him a skeptical look, and then all turned to Quentin as if waiting for him to put in a LOTR-themed quip in response. [“Really?” Josh asked. “No? Should have led with, ‘you have my bow.’”] He gave Quentin a pleading look, and although Q gave a weak chuckle in solidarity, it was pretty clear by now that he was completely out of it.

[“Josh, put some fresh meth muffins in the oven,” Julia cut in.

“Again, not meth,” Josh protested but proceeded to go back to baking.]

They dispersed, but Quentin wasn’t moving from his spot. Eliot sensed he was in a panic spiral, and squeezed his shoulder, hard. The sudden pain made Quentin look up, and his eyes widened as he saw the look on Eliot’s face. He knew that look from the few times they had played with roleplaying and power dynamics back at the Mosaic, when they had time for that sort of thing. He hadn’t seen it yet in this timeline, but the sense memory burned through him like it was yesterday.

Eliot leaned forward to whisper close in his ear. “You’re spiraling. I want to take care of you like I used to. Nod if this is okay.” Quentin nodded. “Good. Go to our room, undress, and kneel on the floor. Once you’re there, wait for me, and don’t move or say a word until I tell you it’s okay to do so.” A shiver ran through his entire body at the words, and he got up obediently from the chair and headed to his room while Eliot went over to talk quietly with Margo while refilling his coffee.

Quentin was trembling as his hands fumbled with the buttons on his shirt. He was certainly not thinking about moon rocks anymore, that was for certain. He decided to leave the lights out since the room was reasonably lit from the gibbous moon outside. He folded his clothes and put them on a chair, to have something to do, and then kneeled in front of the bed, head down and hands behind his back. He didn’t have to wait long until he heard Eliot’s footsteps. He swallowed heavily in anticipation.

Eliot entered the dimly-lit room and walked around the kneeling Q as if inspecting him. “I see you remembered your pose. Good boy.” Another shiver ran through Q’s body at the phrase. He was half-hard already. “Do you need Daddy to take care of you? You may speak.”

“Yes, Sir.” Quentin responded. While he thrilled at the way Eliot called himself Daddy in these situations, he had never been quite comfortable saying it back, so they had agreed that Sir was good enough.

“Very good. I’m going to stay dressed for this. You’re going to get up here and lay across my lap and I’m going to give you 10 spankings with my hand.” Eliot sat on the bed and Quentin got up and laid down spread over him so that his ass was over Eliot’s thighs. He squirmed a little at first, but Eliot waited until he calmed and eventually lay still, waiting.

“Now tell me, before I begin - you remember your traffic lights? Where are you now?”

“Yes Sir. Green, Sir.” 

“That’s what I thought. Okay, I need you to count for me, little Q.” And he raised his hand, holding it in the air until Quentin squirmed just a little bit in impatience and then brought it down hard on the meat of his ass. The sharp sting resonated through his mind, pushing the frantic thoughts out into the ether a little bit.

“One.” He just barely remembered to call out. Eliot raised his hand again, this time falling on the other cheek. Quentin felt his anxiety dissipate a little more. “Two.” The next three strokes helped clear the cobwebs out completely until he was able to focus something else more pressing - his cock hardening in Eliot’s lap.

He tried rubbing against Eliot to get some friction. Eliot paused with his hand up in the air, and said in an icy voice, “What are you doing?” 

“Umm, nothing, Sir?”

“It didn’t feel like nothing. Do you want Daddy to spank you or not?”

“Spank me, please, Sir.”

“Then  _ lie still.”  _ God, that voice. Quentin was immediately still. He didn’t move for the rest of the hits, but it got harder and harder to speak coherently with each count, and by the time he got to 10, there were tears dripping from his eyes and running down his nose. Sure, it felt amazing, but it also fucking  _ hurt _ . As soon as he was done, Eilot’s hand switched to gently caressing the reddened skin, and his voice dropped, whispering soothing nothings as Quentin sniffled away.

As Quentin calmed down, Eliot maneuvered him into a sitting position and kissed him deeply. “Okay, little Q,” he said while pulling away, eyes soft. “Time to feed you Daddy’s cock now. Are you ready?” Q nodded again, not ready for words just yet.

“Okay, Q, I want you to kneel in front of me and undo my pants.” Quentin complied. Eliot lifted his hips so Q could slide the trousers down to his ankles. He did the same with Eliot’s underwear. Then he removed them and put them to one side, folded.

“Good boy. Hands behind your back, that’s right. Now come here.” Eliot reached around to the back of Quentin’s head and grasped as much of his hair as possible (it couldn’t grow out fast enough, as far as Quentin was concerned) guiding his head until he was poised in front of Eliot’s gorgeous cock. “That’s right, you want this in your mouth so badly, my perfect little cockslut. You want to suck on it like a popsicle, and you don’t even care if either of us come, do you?” Quentin just stared at it, practically drooling, but still didn’t say anything. Eliot gave hair a little tug, eliciting a moan. “Say you want it.”

“I want it, Sir.”

“Want what?”

“I want your cock in my mouth, Sir. Please.” Eliot fed it to him, and the perfect stretch of his mouth around its girth was almost more calming than the spankings. Eliot kept pulling his head forward slowly until the head of his cock hit the back of Quentin’s throat.

“As much as it pains me to admit, I am starting to feel the effects of this whole no-sleeping thing. I’m still going to come down your throat tonight, Q. But we’re going to do it slowly. So don’t try anything. And then chances are pretty high that you won’t get to taste my come for 3 more nights. So savor it.” And he set up a slow but punishing rhythm of pulling almost all the way out of Quentin’s mouth and sliding slowly back as far as he could go without making him gag. Anytime Quentin tried to use his tongue, or suck or hum or anything, Eliot would just stop and hold him in place until he gave in. After several minutes, his hand suddenly squeezed a little tighter, and Quentin started to feel that slight thickening that signaled imminent orgasm. “Oh Q, you feel so good, gonna come now,” Eliot moaned and then he pulled back and with a hoarse gasp he was pouring down Q’s throat. Q swallowed dutifully, savoring as much as possible without spilling everywhere. Eliot started to soften and pulled him off and then gently up by his hair for a kiss. Quentin went easily, almost too easily.

“Quentin, look at me.” Quentin’s head felt pleasantly heavy as he turned. “Quentin, are you going to fall asleep on me?” 

“No, no Sir.” he stuttered. But he was feeling very drowsy.

“Okay, well, maybe I took you too far down. Let’s get you back up, shall we? Sit here.” Eliot got up and motioned for Quentin to take his place. Still fully dressed from the waist up, he got down on the floor and started to tease Quentin’s cock with his tongue. It wasn’t long before Q was moaning and writhing under the light touches. When it looked like he might be getting close, Eliot backed away with a glint in his eye. “There you go, all better.”

Quentin looked up at him, storm growing in his eyes. “You, you - “ he sputtered.

“You were falling asleep, I said I would wake you up. Well, it worked, didn’t it?” Eliot smirked (for real). 

Q glared at him. “I hate you,” he grumbled.

Eliot stood and patted Quentin on the head. “I’m sure you do. Now go finish your trilogy.” And he waltzed off, his pants and underwear in hand, to the shower. “And don’t touch yourself!” he shouted from the bathroom as an afterthought.

Quentin’s hand jerked away from where it had migrated subconsciously to his throbbing groin. He sighed. This was going to be a miserable few days.

**Day 3 – 60 hours without sleep**

_ In a cool gay bar, where the people are _ _  
_ _ Entertaining _ _  
_ _ When the sun clocks in, we'll still be talking _ _  
_ _ And champagning  _

_ Underneath the strobe lights, we can dance all night _ _  
_ _ I'm a little bit shy, you're easy on the eye _ _  
_ _ And at the slightest touch we're in love _ _  
_ _ You and me and the moon _ _  
_ _ You and me and the moon  _

Quentin thought he would never be able to eat a muffin again. This was torture. All day, just muffins and coffee, trekking around the city following more empty rock leads, rinse/repeat. It was starting to feel pretty hopeless. Then, while they were waiting for a light to turn, he had a sudden thought - “You know what’s really crazy, guys, is that I just finished reading this trilogy where the moon got blasted off into space by some earth-bending obelisk thingies and, like, created dystopian earthquake seasons, but I had  _ no idea _ that’s was what it was about when I started! Maybe it’s a sign or something, you know? I mean, they fixed it in the end with these obelisks – maybe we should look into it? I mean maybe the Lunatics are wrong about the moon being sentient and maybe we’re wasting all this time on trying to communicate with her using sleep deprivation and moon rocks when we should be looking for earth-bending spells or whatever. Ooh, and El, there’s a really really hot section in the second book where they all just like chill out having orgies on an island, you would really like it I think, I know reading isn’t totally your thing but…”

“Your enthusiasm is adorable, Q, but you’re grasping at straws a bit. I think we need to stick with this plan since Julia seems to have checked her work pretty thoroughly but – tell you what, I’ll still let you read me all the sexy parts later tonight.” Eliot brushed his hand along Q’s jaw, reeling him in for a searing kiss. Q moaned as their torsos came together, trying to push up against him but Eliot jumped back a few inches and teased, “nuh-uh, we’re in public, Q, remember? And anyway, I know you wanna get off, but the ends justify the lack of happy endings, right?”

“Jesus Neil Armstrong Christ, can’t you bitches keep it in your pants for, like, five minutes? Mama hasn’t gotten dicked down in months, and it’s bad enough watching you paw each other all day long in the Penthouse, but listening to you getting your nerd boners out here in public is just too much for one person to take!” Margo huffed and walked ahead of them as Eliot laughed and Q growled in frustration. And now this was another scene that would rinse/repeat throughout the day.

In fact, he was so absorbed in his own horny delirium that he almost missed it when Eliot stopped again, in the middle of a conversation with Margo while walking out of a warehouse in Queens, and turned his head in search of some imagined sound. It was almost the same gesture as before. Eliot went right back to the conversation after a few seconds, pretending nothing had happened, so Quentin didn’t say anything, but he started to keep a closer eye. Eliot was definitely looking rough from the lack of sleep, but so was everyone else. So why was Eliot the only one behaving so strangely? 

He pulled Julia aside when they got back that evening. “Julia, have you seen Eliot do this little twitch thing in the past few days at all? Like he’s hearing things, or something?” She said that she hadn’t, but promised to keep an eye out. 

“Let’s go dancing!” Eliot suggested that night, once it was clear they weren’t going to get any further with the rock hunt. Maybe he was avoiding reality, but any distraction sounded appealing right now, so they agreed. Eliot quickly set up a portal that took them straight into a basement club in Manhattan. 

“ _ The Monster _ , El, Really?” Margo sniffed. The parallel of the club’s name was not lost on any of them.

Eliot shrugged it off. “Come on, Margo, I’m not exactly reading the Village Voice anymore to know the best clubs - and anyway, I don’t have enough functioning brain cells to care about anything right now besides loud noises and bright lights.” He had a point – the sensory overload could hardly put them to sleep. So they stayed.

They definitely shouldn’t be drinking, but El got them bottle service anyway, so they were sipping on champagne every so often, just enough to stay loose but not enough to get drowsy. After a few minutes of this, Eliot pulled Q out onto the dance floor and immediately started grinding away. It was hot, but god, Quentin wasn’t sure how much of this he could take. They started kissing, and it started getting hotter in the room. Soon Quentin was pulling his sweater off. Eliot’s shirt was unbuttoned to show his glistening chest and he had rhinestones all over his face that made him look like a fairy-tale prince and Q was losing his mind. “So sparkly, El,” he whined, running his hands over El’s chest. “Are you a vampire?”

“Of course you read Twilight, you complete nerd,” Eliot laughed loudly.

Quentin pouted. “Sounds like you did, too,” he pointed out.

“I saw the movies, obviously. Margo made me, anyway.” He waved it off and came back in for more making out. His hands made their way to Q’s ass, and pulled him in so their erections were pressing against each other through their pants, and just when Q was losing control of an impending moan so loud they might even get themselves kicked out of a gay club, Eliot dropped his hands and backed off again, eyebrow raised.

Q’s moan came out instead as a growl of rage. “Dammit, Eliot!” He shouted. Eliot laughed, like he was having a great time teasing him, but from his heavy breathing and glazed look, it was clear that he wasn’t totally unaffected either. Frustrated, Quentin rushed out of the sweaty crowd and up to the sidewalk, where he gulped in huge breaths of cold air.

He glowered up at the moon, who seemed to silently judge him as she shone through the sharp spikes of bare fall branches. “Why on earth do you make your followers go insane just for a chance to talk with you?” he whined plaintively.

“It’s the only way to get anyone to believe a hunk of rock in the sky is even sentient, clearly,” a familiar voice responded from behind him. Quentin turned grudgingly to face Eliot, taking the offered bottle of water from his outstretched hand. “Sorry Q. I think maybe coming here tonight wasn’t one of my better ideas. And If it makes you feel any better, I’m having trouble keeping my control around you almost as much as you are at this point. I thought the teasing would be fun, but it’s starting to feel cruel to both of us.”

“It’s fine, El. I mean, this whole thing isn’t exactly about having fun, right? It’s about doing whatever it takes to stay up. I just, we need to be careful with each other, I guess. We kind of have a history of being nasty to each other when things get difficult. And I don’t want to do that this time.”

El pulled him in for a hug and they stood their breathing in each other’s scent for a minute. Then he stepped out of the embrace gently. “You’re right, let’s get the others and go for a walk, huh?”

And he started to turn back to go into the club but Quentin’s hand on his arm stopped him. “Hey, El. I just - I love you so much, you know?” And Eliot’s eyes crinkled as he smiled down at him.

“I love you too, sweetheart,” he said and gave him a soft kiss, hand resting gently on his cheek.

They went back into the club to find their friends, who were more than happy to escape from the overstimulation and stifling heat of the basement. They wandered through the city for the rest of the night, laughing and sharing their best stories. As the sun was rising, they made their way back to the Penthouse, where Josh was waiting for them with another batch of muffins and fresh coffee.

**Day 4 – 84 hours without sleep**

_ When you look in my eyes, I go soft inside _ _  
_ _ And the sound of your voice sends shivers up my spine _ _  
_ _ And at the slightest touch we're in love _ __  
_ You and me and the moon _ _  
_ __ You and me and the moon 

The respite was only temporary, of course. They were all disintegrating. Josh was doing his best to keep them all awake, but it was a pretty challenging and thankless job. He had a squirt gun and had taken to stealth shooting at people who looked like they were zoning out. If the club had taught them anything, it was that sudden changes in stimulation kept them awake, so they also rigged up a phone to blast heavy metal over the stereo at random intervals. They were still having zero luck with the rock, but they were getting so tired they could hardly bring themselves to care.

As the day continued, Eliot seemed more and more distracted. He was doing the twitching thing more and more, and had taken to staring somewhere into the middle distance for several seconds with a look of terror on his face. Whenever Quentin tried to ask him what was going on, he just brushed it off. But he was looking more shaken than Quentin had probably ever seen him. It was clear other people were noticing, too.

Julia caught him alone that afternoon. “I see what you mean, Q. And I think I know what it is.”

“You do? But how - “

“Because it’s happening to me, too. I think he’s having memories of the Monster.”

“But he said he didn’t remember anything!”

“Well, he was clearly lying. Or maybe everything was repressed, and it’s coming up now with the lack of sleep. He’s probably terrified. If they’re anything like mine, they’re getting more vivid the less sleep he has. I’m surprised it’s not happening to you, too.”

“Well, I was a witness to the possession, not a participant. I feel like this might be a bonus feature for hosts, not the plaything. Like, I was already terrified while it was happening - I accepted that it sucked, and processed it during the experience. You were both just along for the ride until it was over, and then you got hit with the cold reality of it later.”

“Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Well, you should talk to him, Q. We need everyone on point tomorrow night - not just awake, but functional. Eliot’s not gonna be much help to us if he can’t pay attention to the spell. And take care of yourself, too. I know you said the memories aren’t bothering you, but talking to Eliot about it might trigger something. We still have 30 hours to go.”

“Okay, Jules, thanks. Eliot was right, you really do suck at inspirational speeches.”

She swatted his arm. “Well, It’s not like I’m running for office or anything. Anyway, I’m gonna go take another cold shower to try and wake up a little. Talk to him, Q. Please.” She went upstairs and Quentin sighed.

He knew Eliot, probably better than anyone in this room, possibly even Margo. Whatever was going on, Eliot hadn’t talked about it yet and he wasn’t going to talk about it now. They just needed to get through the next day and a half, and then after everyone recovered, they could hash it out. Right now, what Eliot really needed was a little bit of his own medicine. He had an idea of what he might be able to do. He just hoped he could pull it off, and that Eliot wouldn’t take it too badly.

Quentin spent the next couple hours setting up the scene. He used a spell to attach a suspension harness to the ceiling of his room, and laid out a few coils of ropes in different textures on the bed, along with a selection of plugs and other toys. Having something to do kept him going, thankfully, and before long it was night again. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves.  _ Here goes nothing _ , he thought, and opened the door. 

He came out into the common area where Eliot was still working on the puzzle with Margo, and leaned down to whisper in his ear after putting a hand on his shoulder so as not to startle him. “I have a present for you,” he whispered. Eliot didn’t startle so much as full-body shudder in surprise, but Quentin was pretty sure it was the good kind of shudder. “Come into the bedroom in 5 minutes. I’ll be waiting. Nod if you understand.” Eliot nodded vigorously. Quentin left the room, pointedly ignoring Margo’s sly look. He knew what she was thinking - hell, Eliot was probably thinking the same thing. Good little Q was going to get into his sub position and wait patiently for Eliot to come Dom the shit out him, like usual. Well, not tonight. The element of surprise seemed to be what they all needed right now, and a surprise was what he intended to provide.

After five minutes, he heard a confident stride and sharp turn of the doorknob. “Are you ready for me, little Q?” Eliot called out, in a strong, authoritative tone. “I hope you haven’t done anything too naughty while I’ve been waiting out the - “ he stopped short at the scene in front of him. “What - what?” he stuttered, eyes widening as he looked from the rope swing and the display on the bed over to Q standing nearby, fully dressed in belted gray slacks and a white button down with his sleeves rolled up to the elbow.

“Where - where did all this come from?” He asked carefully.

“Umm, just some things I ordered recently, in case we - well I figured it would probably be me in the harness when I got them. And -” he rubbed the back of his neck and shuffled his feet a little - “I  _ may _ have watched a few tutorials and looked up a few spells,” he said quickly. He took a settling breath.

“But now it’s my turn to take care of  _ you _ , Eliot. You’ve been looking a little jumpy. And I think, what  _ you _ need, is to be held still, reminded of where your physical boundaries are. Where your body ends and the world around you begins. A reminder that your body is yours and mine alone, and nobody, no  _ thing _ , can take that from us. So I’m going to tie you up, and get you nicely strung up for me here - ” he gestured to the ropes and the harness, watching Eliot’s eyes darken as he started to get the idea “- and then I’m going to play with you for a bit. I’m only going to play with you for  _ our  _ pleasure, and nobody is going to get hurt from anything we do. Got it?”

Eliot nodded. Tears were starting to form in his big eyes and Quentin continued, softer, less confident, but still in charge. “I know it’s too hard to talk about things, but I thought maybe this would help - please tell me if I’m wrong, though, okay? The last thing I want is to make things worse. Is this what you need, El?”

“Yeah, I think it is,” El answered in a cracked whisper.

Q let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding and shifted back into his role. “Okay then. Undress and come over here so I can get you into this thing.”

Eliot complied easily, and let Quentin move his limbs like clay into the harness. He gasped with relief when Quentin did the tut to pull up the harness and adjusted the loops so he was suspended flat out at eye level, facing the floor. Quentin made a show of looking over the coils of rope before selecting the jute. “This is a bit rougher in texture, but it will keep you the most present, I think.” Then he paused. “Check-in color?” 

“Green,” El said in a steadier voice than Quentin had heard from him all day. Thank god, he hadn’t been wrong about this. Using a combination of tuts and manual tying, he wrapped the rope around his lover in a pattern of loops and knots, slowly but with purpose, until Eliot was bound with beautiful lines crisscrossing all over his body, one leg stretched out behind him elegantly by his ankle, the other bent and pulled forward towards his chest. His head was now lower than his waist, leaving Quentin with a perfect view of his ass. Eliot seemed perfectly calm and still, which of course could either be a good or bad sign.

Quentin gave a sharp tug on the loose end of rope, causing Eliot to jerk backwards and give a little hiss. “Don’t fall asleep on me, now.” He said with as much aggression as he could muster. Eliot nodded. “I’m going to need a verbal response to make sure you are really awake.” Another tug. 

“Yes, Quentin, I’m awake.” Eliot choked out. 

“Good. Because now I’m going to have some fun. You aren’t going to want to miss this.” And he went over to the bed and ran his fingers over the different toys, knowing full well that Eliot couldn’t actually see which one he was picking out. He picked up a set of silicone beads, coated it in lube and positioned himself behind Eliot, so that there was no visual cue. “I’m going to play with your asshole now. Are you ready, El?”

“Ready, Q,” and moaned as Quentin tutted out the cleaning spell, teasing the rim with his fingers before pushing one inside. He worked his way up to two fingers, loving the feel of his tight channel around them, and then pulled them out to make room for the beads. He slowly started to push the beads into his ass, one by one. He played for a while, moving them in and out, listening to El’s cries as the beads dragged against the rim on their way out, only just managing to keep his hands off his own erection, but occasionally reaching down to graze Eliot’s balls and the underside of his cock, which was half-hard. Eliot was gasping and moaning after only a few minutes. “So impatient, El. Who would have thought? Do you think you’re ready for something bigger?” Eliot nodded frantically.

“What’s that? I can’t hear you.”

“I’m ready for more, Q.”

“That’s right, I bet you are.” And Quentin spelled the beads clean and set them aside. He continued to work his way up the line of toys until he was on the biggest one, and after fucking him with it for a minute he heard some half-coherent plea from El. He shifted the ropes to raise his head a bit higher and came around to the front, the dildo still resting in El’s ass. Quentin could feel his cock straining against his fly as he took in the flushed look on Eliot’s face. His eyeliner was smeared, curls plastered to his forehead, and his eyes looked wild with need, but he definitely seemed to be in a much better place than before. “What’s that, El?” He asked, trying to sound dismissive, but his voice just came out soft anyway.

“Want - your fist,” Eliot groaned before dropping his head again.  _ Fuck. _

“Umm, are you sure? We’ve never - can you really take my whole fist, you think?”

“Yeah. I can take it. But flip me, please.” Not wanting to waste too much time untying and retying, Quentin used one of the spells he found to adjust Eliot’s body and the ropes so that he was on his back, both legs tucked in towards his chest, erection resting on his belly. He gave him an extra few knots to allow El to rest his head, like a hammock, and also so that Quentin could keep looking at his beautiful face. Then he gently pulled out the dildo, cleaned it and tossed it to the bed. He slowly worked his lubed fingers back in - four went in easily, up to the knuckle. He added his thumb as well without much trouble, but then he hesitated. “Do it Q, come on,” Eliot moaned, and Q narrowed his hand as much as he could and started to push in, carefully watching El’s face. Eliot’s erection was flagging, but he looked like he was entering a whole other state of pleasure. Quentin moved incredibly slowly, maybe a millimeter at a time. His hand came up against an impossible pressure, and he waited as Eliot breathed in and out noisily a few times, afraid he was going to hurt him, but then something loosened and he was in. The feeling was amazing.

“Oh my god,” he laughed airily, in awe. He looked at his wrist, and up at Eliot’s blissed-out face, pupils blown and mouth hanging open. “Oh my god, El, you did it.” Eliot bit his lip and nodded. 

Quentin twitched his wrist down experimentally, and El’s eyes rolled back with a moan. “Fuck, feels so full,” he mumbled softly. 

Quentin twisted and bent his hand in fractional motions, reveling in the feel of it and the effect it had on his boyfriend for a little bit longer before he saw that Eliot’s cock was getting hard again, and stopped. “I’m not getting you off tonight, El, and I don’t want to edge you, either. I’m going to pull my hand out now, okay?”

“Okay,” Eliot said softly, but he whimpered as Quentin started to work his hand back out. It seemed to take longer than going in, but finally he was free, gazing hypnotized as Eliot squirmed for a minute in discomfort from the sudden emptiness, his gaping hole fluttering uselessly, and absently stroking his thighs and belly to bring him back down. Then, after he cleaned them both, Quentin started the long process of untying. Once Eliot was safely on the floor, he rubbed some salve into his skin where the rope had rubbed too raw, and gave him water and snacks. They lounged in silence for a bit looking at the moon, even brighter and closer than the night before, but now it felt less imposing, somehow. Eliot was totally wrung out but awake and grateful. He was encircled by his boyfriend’s arms, leaning with his damp hair against Quentin’s chest, and his low voice vibrated in Quentin’s ribcage when he spoke. “I love you, Quentin Coldwater. Somehow, you always figure out exactly what I need, even when I clearly have no idea.”

Quentin brushed his curls back and gave him a soft kiss on the top of his head. “I love you too, El. I’m really glad this helped. Now come on, let’s get off the floor.” And they moved to the couch (no bed allowed, sadly) where they took turns reading aloud from the Fillory books for a bit (they made Quentin too angry to fall asleep these days) and then took a cold shower (no Round Two this time) before heading back into the kitchen as the dawn was starting to break, where Penny was looking pointedly at them as they rejoined the group, trying to look disgusted but his eyes surprisingly compassionate considering what he had clearly just experienced in his head. “You’re welcome,” Quentin said to him snarkily and Penny glowered, annoyed at being caught out. Eliot laughed, high and clear, and the sound made Quentin happier than he had been since this whole thing began. __

**Day 5 – 108 hours without sleep**

Their activities had clearly wrenched Eliot back into some temporary mental clarity, because in the end, he was the one who finally found them the rock. [“Guys, I can’t trust my brain right now, but this seems like it could be relevant,” he said, hunched over a laptop. “I think this guy has a moon rock.”] 

They all gathered around him to look at the screen. [“Oren Westbrook - why do I know him?” Penny asked, shoving two muffins into his face at the same time. 

“Because you’re not a cave person,” Margo responded, and went on to explain the background.] Julia and Eliot went to meet with Oren, and although they were both stifling yawns as they left, Quentin hoped that he had done enough to keep Eliot’s darkness at bay just a bit longer, so they could save the world. Their sanity could wait.


End file.
